Anderson Cooper

Anderson Cooper came out on Monday via an e-mail that was posted on Andrew Sullivan’sDaily Beast blog. Though Cooper’s sexuality had long been an open secret, it was not an issue he had ever addressed in public. He cited personal and professional reasons for his silence: as a reporter in war zones, he might endanger himself and his co-workers, he told Sullivan. In addition, he hoped to keep the focus on his subjects, not himself. But Cooper was compelled by incidents of discrimination across the country to “[make] clear where I stand,” he wrote. “The fact is, I’m gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn’t be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud.”